Wax-melting device.



B. BRYAN.v

WAX MELTING DEVICE.

APPLIoA'rIoN ruim Ara. ze, 1911.

Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

[N1/EN TOR B.BRYAN. WAX MELTING DEVICE;

APPLICATION FILED APRQ, 1911.

Patented Mar. 1s, 1913.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l inllarhullnnrdu UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFIoii. f

y BARNABns BRYAN, oF WASHINGTON. DISTRICT or COLUMBIA.

WAX-MELTIG DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.l

Patented Mar. 18,1913,

Application led April 29, 1911. Serial No. 624,235.

The present lnventlon relates to means `for Y melting and .applyingsealing wax to vari ous articles, such as ypackages and the like that'are to be sealed, a-nd the primary object Y is toprovide a practicalstructure, by means of which the wax, will be expeditiously melted andcan be properly applied to thel surface or article to be sea-led,the'wax being out ot therange vof action of the heater when not 1n use,so thatfdripping and .waste is avoided. y

An embodiment of the invention that has proven entirely practicable isdisclosed in the accompanying drawings, and is de-y scribed 'in thefollowing specification, but itwill be., evident from an inspection ofthe claims hereto appended that the'saidv invention is not restricted tothe particular struc turev set forth.

Ine the drawings: lFigure 1 is a view in elevation of the instrument.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view tlrierethrough, on

' line Qf-Q Fig. 3. Fig.' 3 is a longitudinal sectional view at rightangles to Fig. on lline 3 6, Fig. 1. Fig. is, cross sectional view onthe line t4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5.is a longitudinal sectional view throughthe heater. on the line 5 -5' oi Fig.` 3. Fig.

' (i is a Vdetail perspective view. illustrating the structure of one ofthe heater elements or sections.- Fig. T is a detail view ot' a modifiedform ,of construction. 'l`i'g- S is a. sectional view on the line S8 ofFig. 7. Similar reference numerals designate corresponding" 'parts inallthe figures of the drawings. y

ln the embodiment illustrated, an electric heater is employed, composedof sections or elements 9 that are oppositely disposed. are spacedapart, and have their opposing faces convergently arranged. The heatingmembers preferably consist of blocks of insulating material. 10. onwhich is lwrapped resistance wire 11. the whole being suitably in-g,

cased in insulating sheets l", as will be evident; These heater sectionsor members are mounted 1n casings 12 that are carried by 55 hollow arms13 filled with insulating mate- 'Fhe arms are ltemperature of the roomin connected by a transverscl)v disposed yoke or bridge piece '16. `lnthe preferred torni ot` construction, one of the leads l located in oneof the arms is the negatii e, hile that in the other arm is thepositive. each of course being electricallyy connected to the heater sertion. and each ot these coils ll being in turn connected to the adjacentcasing l2 so that the circuit is completed thrt'iugh the casing fand thebridge piece or yoke 1G'. The rear ends'of the leads l5 are connected tocontact .elements 17 that project longitudinallyfrom -the vrear ends ofsaid arms.

Slidably mounted on the arms 13 and between the same is a wax holdingdevice, in the form of anangular open-ended tube 18 that extends beyond'the rear end's of said arms. and has the portion between the armspreferably in the form of a hollowvhcat-insn lating boxing 1t). Thistube or holder lo arranged to receive a stick ot sealing wax, as 20.'and it will be evident that the inner pointed end of said wax can bemoved into and out oi coaction with the heater elements when the'holderis movedtoward and away from the same. The side-walls of the bote ing 19are formed with lengthwise-extending ribs 19* each pair ot whichembraces one ot' the' arms 13. Hence, the tube 18 is guided on the arms13 b v these ribs'19x. The tube is moved by placing the 'casings 1Q onthe envelop to be sealed. (the instrument being held vertically)`- andthen pressing down upon the casing 37 to which the tube is attached atits ends and which surrounds the tube (Fig. 4). Mounted upon the rearportion of said holder are suitablev binding posts El carried oninsulating blocks Q2, and connected to Contact plates QS'thatarevmovable into and'out ot engagement with the contact tongues 1.7.Leads 24 from any suit-able source of current are connected to vthebinding posts 21. With this arrangement, it will be evident. that whenthe wax holder is moved to present 4the wax to the heater, the circuitthrough said heater will be closed by the Contact plates 23 coming intoengageinentwith the tongues 17. In order that the heater may bemaintained above the normal which the instrument is placed, and yetbelow the melting point of the wax, if desired, shunts of resistancematerial connect the plates 23 and the tongues 17, so as to alwaysmaintain a weak current through the heater. This structureis-illustrated in Fig. 2, wherein it kthe tube.

willbe noted that the resistance wires 25 are connected to plates 26mounted on insulating blocks 27 that are in turn carried by the tube.These plates 26 are always -in engagement with the tongues 17 lnordertomove and n rmally maintain the wax out of coaction With the heater,springs. 28 are employed that are connected at. their front ends to arms18X which project from' the front end of the holder 18 through slots1.9* -formed in the boxing4 19 aiid,at their rear ends to the rearportions of the arms 13, these springs being extended when the holder ismoved toward the heater.

For the purpose of locking the holder with the wax in coaction with theheater and to prevent the springs 28 acting, a latch is.

employed that is inthe tormot' a spring` 29 secured at one end, as shownat 30 to tlie'box.

ing 19 and having an actuating stem 3l. fixed upon it, which projectsthrough a key-hole slot 32 in the volte 16. This actuating stem or knobhas an enlarged lower portion t3 that springs up into tlie enlarged`portion 3l of the key-hole slot 32 when the `wax holder is advanced,thus locking said holder against retrograde movement under the action ofthe spring 28. The latch 29 has an inwardly turned end 35 that passesthrough a lengthwise-extending slot 35X t'ormcd in the boxing 19 andthen through a transverse slot SG in the holder so as to engage with'the lstick of wax 20, as will be clear by reference to Figs. 2 and liththis arrangement,

it will be evident that when the wax holder is in its reariiiostposition, the latch 2S) will of necessity bedepressed, inasmuch as theenlargement' ot the stem is confined beneath the yoke 1G. The inwardlyturned terminal 33 is therefore clamping the wax stick and holdingitiagainst movement in 'lien, however, the wax holding tube is Iiiovedforwardly to present the wax to the heater` tlic springs 28 will beelongated, and :is soon as the enlargement comes to a position in troutof the enlarged po`rtioii vt-l of tlic key-hole slot, 32. the latch willmove outwardly, therebvv releasing the waxand permitting it to feed bygravit); freely to the heater as rapidl)Y as it. is melted. To carrysaid wax out of the yrange ot' said heater, it is only necessary topress the stem 3l inwardly. The lirst iiiovenient will therefore be toagain clamp the wax to the Wax holding device, and as soon as theenlargement 83 is out of the key-hole slot. g

the springs will react to move the holder with the wax rearwardly. Inthe preferred embodiment of the invention, the mechanism, with theexception of the outer endof the stem and the heating elements inclosedin an outer casing 37.

the end ot' cach operation.

'vice be not' melted. The arms 13 which act as heath-carriers are, as isclearly shown in the drawings, spaced apart and separated by an openingwhich permits the free circlilatioii of the vouter air-around the pieceof wax whicli'e'xtends from the outlet end of the wax-holder 18.. Inthis way this portion of the wax is kept air-cooled: Again, when thewax-holding device 18 is in operative or active position, in which itpresents the wax to the heaters 12, its outlet end is beyond thelmelting range of the heaters 12; that is, the outlet end is, as isshown in the drawings, so far removed from the heaters l2 that the waxat the outlet endof the wax holder 18 is not melted l `urtherinore, bymeans ot the air-gaps between t'he boxlike easing 19 and thc wax-holder18 (Fig. 4) the latter is heat-insulated. To prevent a bacleftlowY ofthe molten wax, the heating elements .l2 are spaced apart and separatedby an opening which permits not only a free endwii-e llow of molten waxbut a flow laterally (it will be understood that the instrument will beheld with the stick of' wax extending vertically). lere the molten waxto flow back into thev outlet end of the waxholder 1S upon laying thelatter down on a table, for example, the melted wax would upon coolingseal the stick of wax in the holder 18. Where the. end to Ibe melted isinclosed in a tube, it is obvious that the inolteii wax will uponcooling solidify and seal the outlet ol the tube and the solidified massof wax must be remclted before any tlowy can take place. lvlheii a gateor valvefis provided tor controlling` the liow from such a tube, thisgate will be sealed againstanovement by the cooling ot the molten wax atwaste of electrii,l energy (or heat) must result in such :in instrumentirom the necessity of again melting the wax in the outlet end o'l' thetube no matter how little sealing wax is re'- quired ior the nextoperation. Furtherniorc. experiment hasl demonstrated that such a tubewill almost certainly overheat the wax, which then gives olll `smoke,thc production ot which it is, of coursefw'cry desirable to prevent.

Willi the instrument liereinbet'orc described. it will bc clear that waxcan be uuieklv heated to the melting point and yet cannot beoverlu'ated, because of the spaced heaters employed. Furthermore becauseot' 1 the open .-iructure. the wax as soon as it i,`

The latter is i formed at each side with a tug :3TX and these lugsprevent the instiuiiient :trom rolling withdrawn trom the l1 atcr coolsto a tcmperature below the melting point, and there is no material dripor waste. Besides the th-at there isno Wastefffcurrentand' yetstuck vtothe.lieatier.l AThe .rearward 'Inovement.' also automatically'brealrs'the circuit if desired, the heater maintained in a heated colidi'tioifi`ibut at -agtiemperature below, the melting, point of fthe-fw'axj sothat. when the instrument-.is :brought .into operartion, vthe Wax heatedva'liriost i-nst'antly.-

l/Vhere .large aticks ofvax' are employed.

.aflieatling device, V:s "uch as Ashown in 7 A `and 8. may 'be utilized.this case, the supporting' arms are indicated at' 13?, and the heater isAiii-the Zftorin rid :comprising side' bars ,38 Acoiii-iectef'l by toi39 'in' which the heating-element cures-'istance'40 `is placed I-n -thisembodiment of the invention, thejend `loff the -waicilitickl is broughtagainst' the bars'f39-and the melted wax passes 'bet-Ween the-saine. A

.From the foregoing; lit is thought thatA the construction, operationand many -advantags of `the 'herein described A invention will beapparent to :those skilled-in .the art,

Without further"descrifitionfand it vwill be' sha-pe, 'proportionandminor A:details o f vcon! struction be rc'sorteil` 'to without *de-.-

' iartinfgffrom the spirit ocrsacriticing anyv of the advant'agcsoftheinvention. Having thus' fully described *my.inveii'-A l tion, .what Iclai-n'ias new, 'and desiretose-A cure bye-Letters Patent, is

1. 'An Ainstrument`--ot the character' setforth,comprising a'lieaterf;means for, carry' ing` .the .wax to Within heat-.ingjrange the same,said inea-n'sf-including' a lf\va.\ i`engaging device and automa ticmechanism controlled' bvsaid device for llimiting tie'eii'posure of theWax to Tthe vheat'ofsaid. heater.` 4

2. Air instrument. Ycfu-the. character Set forth. comprising janelectric-heater; means for carrying .the ivan to within heating range ofthe saine. said-ineens inclndii'i'g *a wax-engaging device :fand automatic fi i'1 'e .cha nism controlled by .said ldevice fior limiting theexposure of. the wax :thelieat of ,said

heaterr 1 Y An 'iustrun'ient of -the characterset forth. comprising'alieater; means slidablv mounted "on A--trhe-'s'ame for carrying the waxtol Within heating krange'fof the heater-,said means including aYWax-eu'gaging devic-e;

and automatic vmechanism controlledv bysaidA means includingr heat ofsaid heater.

5, An instrument' of `the character. set

' direction to carri-v the ularcross 'bars saine, said means includingTa wax-en aging device; and mechanism u 'hich isconrolled .by the latterand which a utomaticalb'l urges said'uicaiis in adircction -to carrythe-wax.

the ivaxtfto u "ithin` heating forth 'having a heater; stick-guidii-igmeans which guide la stick-of wax Within '-tieatii-ig range ot the same;and mechanism1 which auton'iaticallyurges said means in one. di-

re'ctfioii'` A y "6. An instrument of thejcharacter* described `having aheater:A vstick-guiding .incansavhich'guide a stick of 'axwwithin:heating raugcoi the saine; and. inechanism :which automalit-all)7lurges said means in a wax 'out of heating range (if 'the heater.

' 7. An instrument. of the character 4set fort-li hai-*ing a heater.;means `which carry vthe wayto' within heating range of the out of rangeof heater. x

S. ln an instrument of the character set the heat action of said.Ort-'lL-thc combination with a heater haifing arms; 'cifV avreciprocatory wax holding def fv'icc slidably mounted on the arms'forcarryingfthe wax into 'andou Yof coac tii`|n '\vit:l'i

the heater, and a .s'iring for'movingthejivax holding dei'iee in adirectiontocan-y lthe wax away from the heater.

Q -In an. iiistru'm-ent, ofthe chafactei Set forth, lthecoii'ibini'ition withfa heater; of

'means forcarrying wax into and'outjof'the '-raf-n'gesof heat of said'heater.. means for urige in gt-he 'carrying means in one'direction.` andnicai 10, in a'u'instrument.of `the cli-: iracter set forth.' the'combination with `-a lheater. vvOi uic-:ins forcarrsv-ing \A\a'\ intovand ont-.ofthe range of heat of said heater. a 'spring .for urging thecarryingr means' in'o'iiedilf.l

'against movement by the spring.

, '11. linnnV instrument ofthe character forth.` -the' combina tionAwitlr .a heatcii ofA 'a reciprocatorv Waite holding device s'lidably.

associated. tliereivitln a lspring v connectingi the "axholdingdevicea-nd'lieater'to more t-l1e'foi`nier in a'direction to carry the wax awayfrom the heater, anda lock for holdingr the i'vax holdingr device withlthewax 'co- 1 action jwith thehiter.

19h-"In an instrument ot the characteriset forth. the coinbination witha luz-atei'.V ofv .a wax holder Vrelatively movable-thereto. and Vacla-mp for securing the Wax. to the holder.

13;. In aninstrument'of the characterset wax holder relatively morahletlierctc,.and 'a clamp 'foi' securing vthe \ra \'.to the holder' andreleasing it when the lholder moved to'ca-r'ry the wax tothe heater.

14.1In an instrument of the character Set 'fo'rth. .the combination witha heater. of a wax holder movable with relation thereto;

ffoij' hol:ding'thccarryingA means against"movementhy the said urgingmea'i'is.

forth. the combination With-'a heater, of a and mea'ns'ffforiioriiiallvsecuring tliewa'x against moi-'lenient in 'the holder and automat-ically releasing` said Wax when the holder forth. the combination.with va heat-er,` of 'a' Asent was t-liere'to,said vi-neaiis includingawax hldcr' movable firitli relation 'theretoand'a latch iiiovab'letoene-position to secure the ii'ax tw theholderand--to another posi-.with respect to .theheterl V 18; Inv airiiistrii'inentof the 'characterSet forth, the. combination with a heater?, of a tion to 's eciire theholder against. movement;

van holding device. slidab ly associated' there-With, a -yoke carried byvthe'lieater and'f having a key hole' slot, a .spring latchf mounted on`[the Wax holder', and normally engaging .the wax 11o-secure 'the saineinsaidv holder, aii'd a liandlefor the latch opera-tingil in thejkeyholeslotv and permitting "the re-"Q lease .ofl thegivax when t-he latterdsmoved.

into c'o-action .with the heater, .said handle-v engaging-in theenlarged portion o f it-he. keyhole slot -to sec-ure 'the l iolderagainst-incre, inentivhen the ivax is.` released.

19. Ani inst-rii'm'ent 'of the character set forth hav-ing a heater;Wait-holding -ineanS spaced freni-the same and arranged to prewax-engaging device; and vmechanism whichl is controlled b vlsaid'deiiceiaiid irhichauto-V Y niatically coiitrols the expos'iire'ofthe-wax to the actionv of said heater- 20.Y An instriiiiientof thecharacter, 'sct forth having dheater; irait-holding means separated fromv-tliea'nie b van open space and arranged top'iesentf.\iax thereto,saidf means including a wax-ciigagingdevicez and mechanism. which iscontrolled 'bjigizsai-d,

device and ii'liichA aiitoinatica-llv'controls' the exposure 'of the.-ii'ax tothe actron of' said heatei'nf 21. An.instrument of 'thecharacter setil forth comprisinga heater liaviiigspaceda heatingeleiiientsf Wax-holding means ifor iii'cliidiiig a wax-engaging device;and nicchanisin ivhich is controlled by said device'and whichaiitoniaticallv controls the.. exposure of theuiva Xftotlie action ofsaid heater.A

A ninstrument of the character 'set forth coi-uprisingA anelectriclbeaten 'having spaced convergently'.; disposed 'heating elements;--m'eans connected with the heater for.

presenting 'the fw tt said elements, said means including laavan-engaging device.; and. mechanism"which lis eontrolled by saiddevice and which automaticallycontrols the exposureofthewa'xto:the-actionof lements.

23. An. instriiinent of the characterjvde-'i y a heater-carrier which is'connected tliereii'fith and the.- lieater-'carrying-end of whichextends l' f scribed havingir stick-.guiding Twan-lichter beyond .the.outletend of the ivaxdiolder; and a -fla'ineless' `heating elementwhichis -inoiinted 'iipo-nfsaid heater-carrier and theif greater thantheillieltifng range offsa'id elenien-ti; the waxnv'liich extendsvbetween'said outlet end A and heaterfbeing exposed 'toa-ir# cooling. l24. An instru'inentjjof the vcharacter de scribed'. having-'spacedheater-.carriers `'sepa-A rat-ed by aiiopeningwhich periiiitscirculation of air therethroiighgflanieless heating elementsmounted uponsaid heater-carriers andA separated by lan opening -ivhich lallows'Wait-holder Vwhich is connected with said 4the inoltenvvax t-o'...flow'aivay freely; and a heaterfcarriersbeyond the meltingrangeof A.saidelenients.`

95.' instrument of the 'character set forth co'inprisingspaced`hea'ter-carriere; separated by'an opening- Which permits the c.ir

V'ciilatio'n' air thei'eth Anigh; 'spaced 'Hamer less heating elementsni'oiiiit`ed oii .said 'heater-'carri'ers and separatedfbyan opening.

Whieh'allows Athe molten iva o fflowaivay freely; and a ivaX-holderwhichSeonnected iii-"ith said"heater-carriers andis 'heat-insu: latedtherefrojin and which in its operative position lies with -itsioiitletend beyOiid-the melting range ofsaid heating elements.' 526. `.`i.ii'instrument o -f the character set forth comprising a irax -holder';spaced flanieless heating elements; 4vand at pair of spaced fa'rniswhich .hold the latter a\ i 'ay from said Waxholder beyondf theirhielt-ing i"aii' ,ife'; saidfariiis beingseparated by an therethroughand cool the portion ofthe Wax which .extends froinfthe outletendA ofsaid vwax-holder; saidleleiiients being separated by an opening"ii'hich: allows the-free flow of. the molteniva'x.

'Inf testimony wheicoflhave hereunto set.

.my hand iii presence of Miro-.subscribing wit'- nessefs.A

Bahnlinie BRYAN.v VitnesSestvB'. G. FOSTER,

M;,P Aniii Ns.

